Tue.’s Devo - Crossing the Jordan into the Promise

Read: Joshua 3-6
Joshua led the people to the Jordan river and there they camped for three days. During this time, Joshua received his orders from the Lord and prepared the people to follow them. The priests carrying the Ark were to walk into the water. As soon as their feet hit the water it would stop flowing and stand up like a wall. It backed up all the way from a city called Adam. How interesting. It is like God was saying that the curse from Adam was being reversed and they were carrying them into this promised land.
Joshua was to choose a man from each tribe to bring a stone from the middle of the Jordan to stand as a memorial to their posterity of this day the Lord parted the waters and let them walk across on dry land. They did this in the presence of the spies from the inhabitants of the land of promise. Everything happened as the Lord said it would and when they were all safely across, God told Joshua to circumcise this new generation.
Crossing over the Red Sea was a picture of baptism in water unto salvation. Crossing over the Jordan was a picture of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist came baptizing in water but he said that Jesus would come after him and baptize in the Holy Spirit. These people still had to be sanctified but they were baptized into power to fight the enemy and win. Joshua met his spiritual commander near the town of Jericho. He was Jesus, standing in front of him with a sword. When Joshua asked him what he wanted him to do, he told him to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This was the same thing the Lord told Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5). It was like the Lord was telling them both that they would need to walk in the Lord’s shoes and not their own any more.
We all know the story of the battle of Jericho. God terrorized the people for seven days until they were weak. The sound of their shout brought the walls down and gave them the victory. It is going to be the sound of our praise that brings down walls in our lives.
Lord, thank you that you have given us the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and you have given us your Spirit and a voice. May we shout your victory and watch the walls fall down.